Pressing machines



Jan. 5, 1960 A. GOLDMAN 2,919,507

PRESSING MACHINES Filed April 17, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 27 .7 6 a Q a I I FIG.2

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PRESSING MACHINES Filed April 17, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1p INVEN TOR. 74 a2 Alfie/z 6010477027 38 78 92 BY 61% M f6 9o MGL ATTORNEYS PRESSIN G MACHINES Albert Goldman, Brooklyn, N.Y., assignor to Goldman Pressing Machine Corp., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application April 17, 1957, Serial No. 653,350

4 Claims. (Cl. 3836) The present invention relates to pressing machines.

In a well known type of steam pressing machine, to which the improvement of the present invention relates, provision is made for creating a partial vacuum in the buck of the machine for inducinga flow of air through the garment or other article into the buck through the openings in the perforate upper wall thereof for drying the garment when the presser head is moved to its retracted position following the steaming and pressing operation. Also, when the presser head is in engagement with the garment or other work piece on the buck, the force of partial vacuum on the under surface of the presser head holds the presser head down on the work piece with sufiicient operative pressure thereon for the pressing operation.

This partial vacuum is normally eifectuated under the control of a valve for connecting the buck to a source of vacuum or to a vacuum producing device such as a steam or air-operated ejector. Said vacuum control valve is actuated by a foot pedal, depression of which opens up the valve to create the partial vacuum in the buck. It has heretofore been the practice for the operator of this type of pressing machine to manually bring the movable presser head into engagement with the work piece on the buck, such step requiring a substantial amount of effort, and subsequently to depress the foot operated pedal to create the vacuum seal According to the present invention, provision is made to operate the vacuum control valve automatically when the presser head is brought down to engage the stationary buck. The vacuum so created greatly diminishes the effort formerly required in bringing down the presser head into pressing engagement with the work piece on the buck, said vacuum, in effect, causing the presser head to be power operated. This novel construction of the pressing machine also makes it unnecessary for the operator to operate the foot pedal after the movable pressing head is moved into pressing position.

The primary object of the present invention therefore, is to provide a pressing machine having a buck, a companion presserhead movable toward and away from said buck, and valve means to control the provision of a partial vacuum in said buck, with means which is automatically operable to open said valve means when the presser head is moved manually toward the buck for the pressing operation. Thus the presser head is in effect partially poweroperated by the force of the partial vacuum on the pressure head as it approaches the buck, and it is therefore unnecessary for the operator to expend the time and effort heretofore required for the pressing operation of the presser head.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be fully understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings which are to be considered illustrative of the invention but not in limitation thereof.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a rear perspective view, with parts in section atent and parts omitted, of a pressing machine according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional and perspective view of the buck, on a larger scale, on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end view, partly in section, of the pressing machine, with the presser head in retracted position;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the presser head in engagement with the buck;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4, and

Fig. 6 is a front view in elevation, with parts omitted, of the pressing machine with movable presser head in the retracted position.

Referring now to the drawings in detail there is shown a steam pressing machine or apparatus which, except for the mechanism embodying the present invention, is of known construction, machines of this type but without the mechanism embodying the present invention being in wide use. As seen in Figs. 1 to 6, said machine comprises, as usual, a frame having a base 10 which supports an upwardly extending columnar member 11 for supporting the stationary buck 12, and an upwardly extending hollow columnar member 13 on which a U shaped frame member 15 is mounted. Frame member 15 has upwardly extending legs 21 and 23. Extending transversely of legs 21 and 23 and fixedly secured thereto there is a shaft 19. Arms 16 and 17 which support mov able presser head 14 are pivotally mounted on said shaft. A horizontally extending handle bar 29 is secured to arms 16 and 17 for manually moving presser head 14 toward and away from buck 12. The usual counterweight indicated at 20 in Figs. 3 and 4 holds the head 14 releasably in its retracted position. Steam under suitable pres.- sure may be supplied to buck 12 and movable presser head 14 from a suitable source (not shown) through supply pipe 30 and branch pipes 32 and 34 respectively. Pipe 34 is of flexible construction for following the movements of the pressing head. Exhaust pipes 22 and 24 are respectively provided in the buck and presser head in the usual way. As best shown in Fig. 2 buck 12 has a steam chest 25 and an upper compartment 26, the top wall of which comprises a flat perforated plate 27 on which the usual fluid pervious padding 28 is provided. Steam under suitable pressure is supplied to steam chest 25 through supply pipe 30 and branch pipe 32, and from steam chest 25 to chamber 26 under the control of valve 36 operated by foot pedal 38. Pedal 38 is fixed to sleeve 40 and is normally maintained in its upper, valveclosing position by a spring 42. A lever 44 is pivotally connected to the frame at 46 and has one end secured to sleeve 40, the other end of said lever being pivotally connected to the valve operating rod 48. It is apparent that when pedal 38 is depressed, valve 36 is opened to permit steam to flow from steam chest 25 to compartment 26 of the buck.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 1, pedal 50 is utilized to operate vacuum control valve 52 for providing a partial vacuum or suction in compartment 26 whereby to cause air to flow through the garment on the buck and through perforated plate 27 into chamber 26 and out of the latter through pipe 33. Valve 52 is of well known construction and requires no description. It will be understood that the outlet 53 of valve 52 may be connected to any suitable source of vacuum, for example, a vacuum tank or alternatively to a steam or air operated ejector, as is well known to those familiar with steam pressing machines.

Pedal 50 is fixed to a collar 54 which is secured to longitudinally extending shaft 56 for turning the latter. Said shaft 56 extends longitudinally through sleeve 40 wherein it is freely rotatable. Beyond sleeve 40, shaft 56 is secured to a rearwardly extending arm 58 the free end of which is pivotally connected at 60 with the lower end of valve actuating rod 62. The other end of rod 62 is pivotally connected to the operating lever 64 of valve 52. Said valve is of the spring closed type and is opened against the pressure of the spring when lever 64 is actuated for that purpose. It is apparent that when pedal 50 is depressed for actuating shaft 56 rod 62 is operable to open valve 52 for connecting chamber 26 of the buck to the vacuum source. When presser head 14 is manually brought down to engage buck 12, and pedal 50 is depressed a partial vacuum is formed in buck 12 causing air to flow through the garment and through the openings in the perforated upper wall of the buck as explained above. The vacuum or suction so created also creates a substantially fluid-tight seal between the presser head and the work piece on the buck, and said presser head is held in engagement with the buck by the effective force of the partial vacuum, thus dispensing with the necessity of manually holding down the movable presser head and thereby giving the operator free use of his hands.

As thus far specifically described, the pressing machine is of known construction and has therefore been described only to the extent necessary to explain the present invention which is embodied in said machine as will now be explained.

In accordance with the present invention, provision is made for opening valve 52 automatically and simultaneously with the movement of the presser head 14 to garment-pressing position, thus obviating the necessity for depressing pedal 50, the valve operating as heretofore required in operating pressing machines of this type.

T he mechanism provided for this purpose comprises an arm 70 which is fixed to shaft collar 54 and is pivotally connected to one bifurcated end of link 72 as at 74. The other bifurcated end of link 72 is pivotally connected to one arm 76 of bell crank lever 78 at pivot 80. Bell crank lever 78 is pivotally mounted to the frame at 82. The other arm 84 of hell crank lever 78 is pivotally connected at 86 to the bifurcated end of upwardly extending operating rod 88. As seen in Figs. 3 and 4, operating rod extends through the opening in columnar member 13. A spring 90 has one end secured to the frame as at 92 and the other end secured to arm 84 of lever 78 in order to normally retain said arm in its retracted position, corresponding to the closed condition of vacuum control valve 52. The upper end of operating rod 88 is threaded as at 96 and a nut 94, having a knurled operating portion 95 and an upwardly extending sleeve portion 97, is internally threaded to engage the threaded part 96 of operating rod 88. A cap 99 is threaded on the upper end of rod 88 (Fig. and is preferably fixed in non-movable relation thereto for limiting the upper position of nut 94 on said rod and for the purpose which will presently be described.

As described above, movable presser head 14 is carried by arms 16 and 17 which are pivotally mounted on stationary shaft 19. More specifically, and referring now to Fig. 5, bearing sleeves 100 are fixedly mounted on stationary shaft 19 and said shaft is fixedly mounted onto legs 21 and 23 of the frame by any suitable means such as screws 102. Arms 16 and 17 which carry movable presser head 14, are journalled for rotation on sleeves 100. An L-shaped member 104 is pivotally mounted onto arm 16 along an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of shaft 19 by means of screw 105, said screw being freely rotatable relative to arm 16 and fixed relative to member 104. As shown in Fig. 5, leg 106 of member 104 extends in a direction parallel to shaft 19 and a small clearance is left between said leg and said shaft. The downwardly extending leg 108 of member 104 is operatively connected to the upper end of rod 88. For this purpose, leg 108 has an opening 110 in which rod 88 is slidably engaged by means of the aforementioned cap 99 which has a sliding fit with leg 108 in said opening.

When the movable presser head 14 is in the retracted position, as best shown in Fig. 3, the upper portion of operating rod 88 is slidingly engaged in opening 110 of member 104. The action of spring 90 causes rod 88 to be maintained in an upward position, which position is defined by the engagement of sleeve portion 97 with the lower edge of leg 108. It will be observed that the part of arm 16 to which member 104 is connected constitutes in effect an eccentric member for imparting a vertical stroke to the latter and through the latter to actuating rod 88.

When movable presser head 14 is brought down to initiate the pressing operation, as best shown in Fig. 4, arms 16 and 17 are rotated about shaft 19 causing a downwardly motion of leg 106 of L-shaped member 104. Said downward motion of member 104 is imparted to nut 94 and is in turn transmitted sequentially to operating rod 88, lever 78, link 72, arm 70 and shaft operating collar 54 thereby actuating shaft 56 to open vacuum control 52.

It is apparent that the effective length of operating rod 88 is determined by the position of nut 94 thereon. The higher knob 94 is disposed on rod 88, the greater the effective length of operating rod 88 and the sooner will the actuation of valve 52 occur as the movable presser head is brought down toward the buck. A lower position of nut 94 along rod 88 will cause a smaller effective length thereof, and will accordingly cause actuation of valve 52 at the end of the travel of movable presser toward the buck,

Nut 94 may be disposed low enough along rod 88 so as to prevent any engagement of sleeve portion 97 with member 104 during the pressing operation. When nut 94 is thus disposed, it becomes apparent that operating rod 83 is ineffective to actuate air vacuum valve 52, and the pressing machine may be operated in the conventional manner.

It will be observed therefore that the mechanism provided by the present invention is such as to enable the operator to actuate the vacuum control valve by merely bringing down the movable presser head in engaging relationship with the garment disposed on the stationary buck. The valve being automatically and simultaneously opened, a vacuum seal is likewise automatically created between the movable presser head and the work piece on the buck, thus maintaining them both in engaging relationship.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that various changes may be made in the idea or principles of the invention within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a steam pressing machine having a buck, a companion presser head, means secured to said presser head for moving said head toward and away from said buck for the pressing operation, and means including a valve for controlling the provision of a partial vacuum in said buck; operating means pivotally mounted on said presser head moving means and movable therewith, an operating rod operatively connected to and adapted to open said valve, a member adjustably positionable into operative and inoperative positions and movably secured to said operating rod, said operating means engaging said member to cause said rod to open said valve when said member is in said operative position and when said support means is moving to cause the presser head to engage the buck of said pressing machine.

2. A steam pressing machine comprising a buck, a companion presser head, rotatable support means secured to said presser head for moving said head toward and away from said buck for the pressing operation, means including a valve for controlling the provision of a partial vacuum in said buck, said valve being in communication with said buck for connecting the latter to a source of sub-atmospheric pressure, a pedal for opening said valve, means including a shaft operatively connecting said pedal to said valve to open said valve when said pedal is depressed, a vertically extending operating rod operatively connected to said pedal, the downward movement of said rod causing depression of said pedal, said operating rod having a member movably secured thereto in the upper portion thereof, said member being positionable into operative and inoperative positions thereof respectively, and operating means secured to said support means slidingly engaging the upper end of said operating rod, said operating means also engaging said member, the engagement of said operating means with said member when said member is positioned in said operative position causing said operating rod to move downwardly when said support means is rotated to cause said presser head to move toward said buck whereby said pedal shaft is operated automatically to open said valve.

3. A steam pressing machine comprising a buck, a companion presser head, support means secured to said presser head for moving said head toward and away from said buck for the pressing operation, means including a valve for controlling the provision of a partial vacuum in said buck when said valve is opened, a vertically extending valve actuating rod operatively connected to and adapted to open said valve, a pedal operatively connected to said valve actuating rod for the actuation thereof when said pedal is depressed, a vertically extending operating rod operatively connected to said pedal to cause depression of said pedal when said operating rod is downwardly moved, said operating rod having a member adjustably secured thereto in the upper portion thereof, said member being adjustably positionable into operative and inoperative positions thereof respectively, and operating means secured to said support means slidingly engaging the upper end of said operating rod, said member being engaged by said operating means when said support means is rotated to cause said presser head to move toward said buck, the engagement of said operating means with said member in the operative position thereof causing said operating rod to move downwardly whereby said pedal is depressed to automatically open said valve.

4. In a steam pressing machine having a buck, a movable presser head, and control means operable to connect said buck to a source of sub-atmospheric pressure; means operable automatically in response to the movement of the presser head to its operative position for the pressing operation for actuating said control means for connecting said buck to said source of sub-atmospheric pressure, said automatically operable means comprising means operatively interconnecting said movable presser head with said control means for operating the latter to connect said buck to the source of sub-atmospheric pressure, said interconnecting means including a part movable from an operative to an inoperative position in relation to said presser head to render said automatic means ineffective to operate said control means, and pedal actuated means for operating said control means when said automatic means is rendered inoperative.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 810,308 Salzer et a1 Jan. 16, 1906 1,635,616 Haacke July 12, 1927 1,640,351 Dorsey Aug. 30, 1927 1,698,943 Davis Jan. 15, 1929 1,886,799 Forse Nov. 8, 1932 2,007,321 Yosyk July 9, 1935 2,426,747 Reece et a1. Sept. 2, 1947 2,533,188 De Vitto Dec. 5, 1950 2,555,967 Goldman June 5, 1951 2,621,524 Bretschneider Dec. 16, 1952 2,644,254 Schultz July 7, 1953 

